If you want a more relaxing way to get your daily 3 star fix than firing slightly perturbed feathered animals at different green animals then growing flowers could be just for you. And if that’s the case then you need to get hold of Chillingo’s latest game, Light the Flower.
The challenge in each of the 60 levels spread across 5 different homes is to get as much light as possible to all the plants in the house. The 3 star challenge comes from equally lighting up three stars as you bounce the light around the room to the sun thirsty plant.
The light source on each of the levels is the sun that streams in through one or more of the windows. You then get to use a combination of mirrors, prisms and filters to bounce and change the path of the light to the darkened corner where the plant has been positioned.
The touch controls are smooth and accurate. You can drag the mirrors around the room and rotate them so that you can get the perfect angle. It’s also worth noting the splitting the beams of light is key in some of the levels as multiple plants have to be bathed in sunlight.
The challenge is increased as you progress through the various houses not only by multiple plants but also by their need for different colored light. This is achieved by passing the sunlight through different colored filters.
Throughout the game your progress is hindered by a variety of household items that are strewn throughout the different rooms which block the light from passing requiring you to bounce the sunlight around them.
As with all such games you can progress through the game relatively easily if you don’t care to achieve all three stars on each level, but then where’s the fun in that!
The game has a Cut the Rope feel to it especially in regard to the cartoon style graphics and the jolly background music that keeps things moving along nicely! Light the Flower is a fun, challenging puzzle game and the nature of the game means that you can just keep making slight adjustments to achieve the result you desire.
Additional levels are promised in future updates but that’s not to say that the 60 levels aren’t good value in themselves especially if you complete them all with 3 stars. If you want to unlock the current 5 houses you will need to get all the stars you can though, otherwise you’ll need to unlock them via a 99cent in app purchase.
Light the Flower is available now for just 99 cents in the App Store and as a universal game it’s great value for money if you do happen to own both an iPhone and an iPad. What it doesn’t do is synchronise your data between the two devices which is slightly frustrating.
Both Crystal and GameCentre integration is included so you can view your progress with all your friends.
[rating: 4/5]What we like
What to know
One of the biggest successes of the App Store was and still is Doodle Jump, a simply addictive game where you have to jump from platform to platform up the screen for as long as you could. Well Frong appears to most defiantly have been inspired by Doodle Jump but does it reach the same heights?
The story behind Frong is that you are a small frog with a dream to make it out of the bog and reach for the skies. To do this Frong will slingshot himself out of the bog by grabbing onto wooden platforms and, rather bizzarely, caterpillars avoiding bees, tree “hands” and the deadly “tree hallow” that spells instant death.
The cartoon style graphics and more functional than eye grabbing but as your frog swings speedily up the tree to freedom the graphics become’s pretty much a blur anyway and doesn’t really detract from the gameplay which is both fun and addictive.
You start with your frog, Frong, sitting in his bog with the first thing offering for him to use to launch his bid for freedom is being the previously mentioned caterpillar. Grabbing hold of a caterpillar with your frog’s tongue will give you an extra boost as you leap up the tree and because if the added boost they only appear occasionally. Frongs bread and butter for escaping the bog will be the multitude of wooden platforms spread across the screen.
Grabbing these platforms is as simple as touch them, however, don’t get to carried away as along with the safe wooden platforms there are also icy and sticky platforms that will award your frog with instant death rather than additional distance up and away.
While instant death can become easily found with the icy and sticky platforms there are additional threats too. The “dark hallow” is a mysterious creature that hides in the trunk of the tree and will grab Frong as soon as it flies over him and then there are the numerous bee’s and “tree hands” that while not causing instant death but will reduce your health by one each time you hit them. You can build your health back up again though with the hearts that randomly place on random platforms.
While Frong is a single player game only the addition of Open Feint integration enables you to compare your scores with players from all over the world and your friends. There are also 17 achievements to unlock in order to become the ultimate Frong champion.
Frong, is simple and fun and while it may not have quite the quality and simple sophistication of Doodle Jump it comes a very close second and if you are hooked on Doodle Jump then Frong could be an enjoyable alternative.
The Good
The Not So Good
Reviewed By: Craig Willis
Frong Gameplay
Price: $0.99 (iTunes Store Preview)
Updated Feb 22, 2010
Reviewed Version: 2.2
Size: 9.3 MB
Languages: English
Seller: Aleksej Kuznetsov
© 2009 Gorodohan
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone and iPod touch. Requires iPhone OS 3.1 or later.
Chillingo has been publishing highly polished games for the iPhone, their name is almost synonymous with ‘awesome iPhone games’ They have been successful in producing many popular games like Zen Bound, iDracula – Undead Awakening and Minigore to name a few. Chillingo is all set to release their upcoming game Guerrilla Bob which has been developed by Angry Mob Studios.
Gameplay videos after the break!
We have been noticing an increase in the number of survival shooting games and there are some exceptional games available in the App Store if you love this genre and Minigore (iTunes, $1.99) from Chillingo is certainly worth checking out.
Guerrilla Bob For iPhone has been creating a lot of buzz and the gameplay videos have been viewed more than 45,000 times on YouTube in the past two months. Guerrilla Bob is a dual stick survival shooting game for iPhone and iPod touch with high detail cartoon style 3D graphics.
Angry Mob Studios have presented the game very well with beautiful artwork and music. You play as Guerrilla Bob in this top-down shooter and your mission is to take revenge from his friend and his troops who set him up to look like a corrupt solider.
The game is going through the polishing stage now and will be ready to be published in the coming weeks.
Guerrilla Bob For iPhone Gameplay Videos
Guerrilla Bob Screenshots
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Who hasn’t dreamed of being a spaceman or super hero before? Well now you have the opportunity to combine both those dreams into one as you take on the role of Captain Galactic in his quest to save the Universe.
Captain Galactic is a space based platformer where instead of running, jumping, collecting and defeating enemies along horizontal platforms you run around numerous planets using their gravitational pull, stick and launch yourself between them. All the usual platform tasks are here, collecting coins throughout the levels is a side task alongside the main task of rescuing people located through the levels and return them to your ship.
Captain Galactic iPhone Game
The controls are simple enough once you get used to them, the left hand slider controls the direction your character runs/flies around each planet, ether clockwise or anti-clockwise. While the button in the bottom right corner of the screen launches Captain Galactic out of orbit and from planet to planet.
The cartoon style graphics look good and while the levels look pretty similar they do all have their own distinct style. Cut scenes between each level tell the story of Captain Galactic’s attempt to save the universe and the story is told well enough.
Ultimately each level is the same, spin Captain Galactic around, pick up the coins, rescue the humans, kill the enemies and return to your spaceship and with bosses to defeat at the end of each set of levels this is everything a classic platformer needs to be.
Captain Galactic iPhone Game_1
Across 30 levels there’s enough to keep you going for quite a while although having said that there will be little replay value here although the numerous achievements adds a little more spice to events.
Captain Galactic is a single player game which will keep any platform game fan amused and entertained for 99c worth of time.
Price: $.99
The Good
The Not So Good
Reviewed By: Craig Willis
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